Introduction

"A major new voice in southern fiction."—Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author

A moving debut novel about two mothers—one biological and one adoptive—from a compelling new voice in Southern women’s fiction.

One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.

Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor...

Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made...


“Dear Carolina is Southern fiction at its best....Beautifully written.”—New York Timesbestselling author Eileen Goudge 

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Excerpt

Khaki
Salad Greens
I designed a special scrapbook for each of my children. A custom-made blue or pink album with white polka dots and a fat bow tied down the side, the front center proudly displaying a monogram that was given to each of you. I take those books out every now and then. Sometimes I add a new photo or memento. Other times I gaze at the pictures and marvel at how quickly the eyes-closed-to-the-world phase of infancy morphs into the headfirst-plunging alacrity of toddlerhood. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Would you consider adopting, and, if so, would you be comfortable with an open, family adoption situation like Khaki and Jodi find themselves in?

2. How do you think Khaki and Jodi's upbringings affected the decisions they make throughout the novel?

3. Despite their different upbringings, both Khaki and Jodi had very difficult relationships with their mothers. How, if at all, do you think these relationships affected their views of motherhood?

4. Each of Khaki and Jodi's chapters begin with an anecdote about their careers that relates to what they are going through in the chapter. What did you see as the significance of this?
5. Which of the characters, if any, did you most relate to in Dear Carolina? Why?

6. The romantic relationships, both positive and negative, are very important in Dear Carolina. How do you think their partners affected the decisions that Khaki and Jodi made? Do you think their decisions would have been different if their relationships--or lack thereof--had been different?

Weblinks

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